'Game of Thrones' artist attracts crowd at Comic-Con

When artist John Picacio started to illustrate George R.R. Martin's best-selling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series for a 2012 calendar last year, he had no idea that the HBO show "Game of Thrones," which is based on the novels, would catapult him into fandom.

Even this week, as Picacio, an award-winning illustrator of science fiction and fantasy, prepared for Comic-Con, he didn't realize how many fans would be stopping by his booth (No. 4600) to buy the calendar. He didn't bring enough copies ("I could have brought six or seven times more, he said") and book booths across the convention we're trying to help him keep the calendar in stock for today's 3-5 p.m. signing with Martin.

Picacio said the illustrations are how he views Martin's characters, although the author did sign off on all of the interpretations with very few changes. For example, when Picacio was drawing Ned Stark, Martin just had one tweak: "He said a little more salt and pepper in the beard," Picacio said.

And how have fans liked his vision? "Many fans have said the images don't interfere with their vision of the characters (in the book or HBO series)," he said. And some have said his portrayals match exactly what they'd envisioned when they read the books. "That makes me happy," Picacio said.

JOHN PICACIO is a 2011 Hugo Award finalist for Best Professional Artist and a World Fantasy Award-winning illustrator of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Check out his website HERE. He will be at booth 4600 throughout Comic-Con.